CCN caught up to Plash Ricrem at the clubhouse bar as his battle with JCKing reached the turn deadlocked at 4-4-1.

CCN: Any thoughts on the first 9 holes?P.R: I started off a little rusty and he came out pretty hot, but I sorta turned things around. I really started hitting my fairway irons well towards the turn (dice were solid the last 3 games) which really seemed to frustrate JC.

CCN: Any major regrets?P.R: Playing holes 4-6 moderately buzzed may have been a mistake, although I suppose half the problem could have been not drinking enough. That and not being more aggressive on the 9th. That hole really scares me, particularly on foggy days, and so I played it more cautiously than I probably should have resulting in the halve.

CCN: Any thoughts looking forward to the back 9?P.R: There are a couple of holes and pin locations that scare me (8 thoughts, USA Apocalypse, Waterloo) but I'm going to go give it my all. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I have enough time to throw back another Guinness before we hit the links.

CCN caught up to Plash Ricrem on the eve of the final 3 holes of his epic match with 2 seed JCKing which is all square headed to the 16th tee:

CCN: Any thoughts on your play on the last set of holes?PR: Lucky. Had some great drives (drops) on all 3 holes and was able to use my fairway irons to set up easy birdie opportunities on 13 and 14 (both of them were essentially decided after like 2 rounds). A bit frustrated at my inability to take the 15th hole, as we both were making great shots all hole long. He was just able to drill that 25 foot putt (escalating 3 card set after I caught one of my own) to finish me off. It got really windy on the green on that one too (dice had their moments of unfavorably).

CCN: What do you think of the last 3 holes?PR: In one word? Tricky. I've never shot par or better on the 16th (Winless for my life on 8 thoughts) and the 18th is really going to be a pain if we get there as apparently JCKing could play it in his sleep while I've never even looked at it before (he owns waterloo, i've never even tried playing it). I think the 17th will also be a toss up, I've had some decent success on that one though. My game plain is to try like hell to win the 16th and 17th because if we go to 18 it's probably going to be curtains for me.

CCN: Any thoughts on your competitor?

PR: JCKing is a stand up player, and its been a pleasure going toe to toe with him for 15 holes. I'm obviously hoping I advance, but if I don't I'm sure he'll be quite the pain for whoever has to face us in the quarters. In closing I'm just going to go out there and leave it all on the green.

Plash Ricrem could only shrug his shoulders in defeat following his 1 up loss to 2 seed JCKing in the 3rd round of the match play golf championships. CCN caught up to the beleaguered golfer just after he got off the 18th green:

CCN: Well you nailed the outcome to a tee (pun unintended) in our last conversation...PR: Yeah, I figured it'd end up like this, he took 16 without much of a fight, I took 17 with some help from some poor shotmaking from him, and then 18 was no contest.

CCN: Yes, the dreaded 18th hole. Were you concerned about it that much before the match began? PR: Yes. When I saw the hole arrangement for this round, I knew that if my match went to 18 I'd almost certainly be screwed. The 18th hole this round had quite the steep learning curve. I mean no disrespect to the tournament committee, but it has to be in the top 5 hardest holes (maps) in the world to learn to play effectively. I mean just the name inspires fear... waterloo. It certainly was mine today. I mean if it was me versus some other guy who had never played it before, it could probably have been a decent fight. But when I was playing someone who had always shot below par on it, and who knew the intricacies of it inside and out (someone who had won on that map 200+ times), it was no contest.

CCN: What are you going to take away from this tourney? PR: Overall it was quite a fun experience. Sure I have a couple of regrets, some missed shots here and there in my match that could have turned the tide (Poker and Madagascar come to mind), but I had fun. Got to play some holes I"d never played before, and tried my best, I guess that's all that really matters. I'd like to thank the tournament organizer (Flex!) and all nice people I played games with. Hopefully I can come back next year and make it a round or two further.

In what has to be one of the classic series of all time-HighlanderAttack was very lucky in beating Agent 86. The luck changed back and forth so many times over the last three holes finally turning my way. Agent 86 tried to halve the hole in 8 thoughts with it being in the 12th round, but I caught a lucky 10 spot and got the dice I needed.

Agent 86 is a great opponent and I feel for him as we both deserved to advance. If this had been the finals it would have been one of the greatest ever. Now that it is over I can breathe. I wish him good luck in other tournaments and can't wait to face his great sportsmanship in the future. He probably put up with some of my unsportsmanlike conduct more than he should have.

definitely a classic series

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

#41 seed WPBRJ is the latest to make the Match-Play golf Final Four...two quarterfinal matches are still ongoing. He will face #2 JCKING in the semis...I'm planning to put up the semifinal scorecard late tonight, so you'll know what the holes will be and I'll kick off the semis in a day or two.

Good luck guys...quite an accomplishment to still be playing at this point in one of the toughest tests for 1 vs. 1 play that I've come up with